Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) made the surprise discovery that a metabolic pathway to take up CO2 exists and functions in a microorganism capable of breaking down and fermenting cellulosic biomass to produce biofuels including hydrogen and hydrocarbons.

Elysha Sturm is a member of Rodman CPAs' specialty practice known as the "Green Team" and she will continue to provide accounting and tax service to renewable energy and cleantech companies across the U.S.

Joshua S Hill for CleanTechnica: A new study has concluded that transitioning to wind and solar power would be a cheaper option for the United Kingdom to replace its coal fleet than using biomass electricity generation.

According to a new study published this week by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and conducted by London-based Vivid Economics, which examined the full system costs of renewable energy technologies like wind and solar in comparison to biomass as a replacement for the UK’s coal fleet, wind and solar came out as the cheaper option.

The UK already uses a lot of biomass for electricity generation, with the report concluding that “biomass supplies the lion’s share” of the country’s renewable electricity generation. However, as the authors of the report note:

“…recent science shows that many forms of biomass produce more carbon emissions than fossil fuels like coal and natural gas—especially biomass from forests—increasing carbon pollution precisely when the United Kingdom aims to rapidly decarbonise its electricity sector.” Cont'd...

Wind and solar power are likely to be less expensive than burning trees in order to replace coal in the United Kingdom, according to a new study released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Geothermal power showing sustained strong growth through 2016 according to a new report by the US Geothermal Energy Association (GEA). Projects now under development when completed would increase capacity outside the U.S. by 25% according to GEA.

SMi Group are thrilled to have Maya Van der Steenhoven, Director of Public, Private Cooperation Heating and Cooling from South Holland, present at the 9th annual Energy from Waste conference when it returns to Central London on 8th and 9th December 2016.

Leading renewable energy and infrastructure consultancy, Natural Power, has appointed Pieter D'haen to the newly created role of International Director. This strategic position signals Natural Power's strong commitment to offer its clients global access to the company's innovative services and to accelerate its successful international expansion.

For energy traders and utilities, profitability in this complex and evolving market requires a full and complete picture of assets, operations, positions and risk exposures. Too many utilities are still labouring under a painful burden of data management challenges, including lack of automation, multiple disparate systems and data formats.

Umair Irfan for ClimateWire: On schedule, on budget. It’s a tall order for any new technology, but for a commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) system, it might be the start of a revolution.

The Petra Nova carbon capture system under construction at the W.A. Parish Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant southwest of Houston, is slated to go online before the end of the year. The billion-dollar facility will become the largest post-combustion carbon capture system installed on an existing power plant in the world.

Systems like Petra Nova that keep carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere may become a necessary means to mitigate climate change, and for some utilities, they could offer a lifeline to beleaguered fossil fuel plants. Cont'd...

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